Volvo Launches M, Another Alternative to Car Ownership

Among the major automakers attempting to morph themselves into mobility companies, Volvo has been one of the most active competitors.

The company has rolled out a series of new brands and subsidiaries in recent years, all looking to probe technical developments and business models that revolve around something other than traditional auto sales. The latest arrived Wednesday, when Volvo announced the creation of M, a new brand that gives customers on-demand access to transportation through an app.

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If that sounds an awful lot like other ride-hailing or car-sharing options that are already currently available, well, it is. But Volvo says M is in the process of developing proprietary technology that better harvests data on customers’ needs, preferences, and habits, which will in turn lead M to pinpoint the best mode for its users at a given moment.

“The services currently available mainly offer alternatives to a taxi or public transit,” said Bodil Eriksson, chief executive officer of Volvo Car Mobility. “We’re focused on the way people use the cars they own, which sets us apart. We aim to provide a real alternative to that experience. It should enable us to live life on our terms, getting things done and maximizing precious time.”

The service is being developed in Stockholm and will make its debut in Sweden and the United States sometime in 2019. Although its exact offerings remain nebulous, Volvo says it will fold its Sunfleet car-sharing brand with its 1700-vehicle fleet into the M brand next year.

Car and Driver

Beyond that, no plans have been announced, and it remains to be seen whether M amounts to a rebranding of its Sunfleet service or if M offers more than car sharing. The company says M will give users “dependable, on-demand access to cars and services,” and it’s not hard to imagine a ride-hailing component would fulfill the “services” part of that mission.

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What might be more intriguing is to see how or if the Care by Volvo subscription service is integrated into the available M options. Care is essentially a flexible lease program with a set monthly fee that incorporates insurance premiums and maintenance into payments and allows users to switch vehicles as often as once a year. Launched in November 2017, the service offers Volvo’s new 2019 XC40 crossover and costs $600 per month.

That’d seemingly go a long way in connecting the dots through an app for customers who want to eschew traditional ownership by utilizing M.

“We recognize that urban customers are rethinking traditional car ownership,” says Volvo chief executive officer Håkan Samuelsson. “M is part of our answer. We are evolving to become a direct-to-consumer services provider.”

While many details on M are still to be revealed, the basic premise suggests a path forward for Volvo that could see the automaker becoming an aggregator of car sharing, ride hailing, and longer-term subscription services. And if the likes of Uber and Lyft were the first to upend transportation via app-based platforms, perhaps traditional automakers like Volvo may one day do the same.